Birth
by xox.MyWorldIsDifferent.xox
Summary: Yes, maybe DiNozzo men don't cry, but there is always an exception to every rule and sometimes, you are wrong.


_AN: So basically I have started a new project! Yay! Projects are fun! Anyway, whatever this is will be part of a series-esque type thing that my plot ponies came up with. What this is could be classified as an extract of sorts from this series-esque type thing, but I'm not sure. Whatever.  
So yea, we will have quite a few of these family related stories coming out. Hopefully you all enjoy! :)_

_Disclaimer: Nope, if it's one thing my plot ponies can't do, it's give me official ownership of NCIS… _

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

There had been several moments in his life when Tony had been unsuccessful in determining whether or not what he was seeing- or hearing, in this instance- was merely a dream or reality.

Years ago, when asked the question, he would have answered that dreams were much better than reality, but now he was not so sure.

Reality had proven to be not such a bad thing after all.

Right now, though, the pain in his left arm was making his eyes creak open the tiniest fraction, though he is unsure whether or not he has been asleep in the first place.

The apparent tingling in his fingers proves just how much pain, exactly, his arm is going through, and he applauds the lengths whoever is pinching him has gone to.

Reality may have proven to be not such a bad thing, but its times like these when minds can be changed and oh yes, simplicity isn't his strong point, but he will work on that for a while.

"Tony!"

So now he supposes his brain is talking to him, very urgently, and in his wife's voice. He decides to begin his simplicity by slowly, very slowly, moving his right hand over to his left and one by one he extracts Ziva's fingers from his flesh.

_Yes, now just cover the area before her next plan of attack and…_

Simplicity doesn't really pay off, because suddenly there is something over his nose, squeezing tightly and now he can't breathe, obviously.

He opens his eyes wide and sees a light which he was sure he didn't turn on, and he sees the look on his wife's face and he just knows.

"Oh" he drawls slowly and rubs his nose.

"Tony! The babies are coming!" she says, and then frowns. "That is correct, yes? It certainly does not sound like the appropriate term."

"Wait, Ziva… I thought we agreed that you would tell me two days prior so we were ready!" Tony hisses as he hauls himself out of bed and looks Ziva over critically, sounding ridiculous as he asks but things are happening too fast for him.

"Oh yes, Tony, I am terribly sorry that I never thought to mention the fact that I was certain I was going to give birth at this moment." That's his Ziva, with the fire in her eyes and the _are-you-seriously-making-this-about-yourself-when-something-else-is-so-much-more-important _look that he has, apparently, grown used to.

"Sarcasm isn't cute, Ziva," he tells her whilst packing whatever he can find into two bags. He's probably missing something.

"Do not argue with me DiNozzo."

Them as a couple had been a rainbow, but there was always a tornado following close behind. Their tornado came at horrible times and tore down what they had built, usually around the moment when things were perfect, kind of. It seemed to have a thing for old ghosts and new wounds.

They stare for several seconds before both return to their previous activities; Tony stalks away to the bathroom to collect toiletries whilst Ziva leans against the bed and tries to remember where she has placed her phone.

Tony returns and adds their smaller bags to the bigger ones, and throws Ziva her phone and a hair tie. "You'll be fine while I go get your drink bottle?" he asks, his dutiful husband side making an appearance.

"It is just downstairs, Tony. I promise," she replies and pulls her curls back loosely. He has barely made it out of the doorway when he hears her gasp, and so he runs back to her side to stand awkwardly while she experiences what he supposes is a contraction.

"Haha, could have fooled me," he whispers in her ear. "Don't think I should leave you now."

"I'm fine," she pants. "I'm calling Abba."

Her voice cracks, and he can see how scared she is. Gibbs was more of a father than Eli would ever be, but she rarely called him her 'Abba'.

Tony dials Gibbs' number and passes the phone over to Ziva, who shoos him away with teary eyes. As he leaves, he can hear her shaky breaths and then, "Shalom, Abba."

He fills her bottle and takes three fresh ones with him, only making it halfway up the stairs before she meets him. "Gibbs is meeting us at the hospital. He will also ring Abby, and I'm sure she will let the world know," Ziva informs him as he takes her arm to help her down to the first storey of their house.

"At least everyone will be there. Now wait here, I need to grab our bags, and then we can go!" Tony says quickly, nervously, and Ziva smirks. He is closer to the door and she is quite sure he has never been more terrified of what will happen on the other side.

"Have you installed the car seats?" Ziva asks, still smirking because she is Ziva and this is probably just nerves for her as well, and then sighs at the look of horror that crosses Tony's face. "Never mind. You can do it before we leave the hospital."

That word sends shivers down his spine, and half of it is from excitement he realises with a start. He takes the stairs two at a time and then enters the room with the speed of a sugar high three year old.

He's gonna have to work out more if he is expected to keep up with that all the time.

With one hand he collects their bags and with his spare he searches briefly for the camera and batteries that Ziva has supposedly laid out for him. He finds them under the bed, which is a ridiculous place to put something so important.

He must remember to call her up on that later.

Tony runs back down the stairs, dumps their stuff in the car, and then graciously takes Ziva's arm and waddles with her outside, into the cold, and he wishes he had of gotten her a jacket or something.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Doctor Gemma Wilson is awaiting their arrival with a wheelchair and a smile.

"Water broken yet Zi?" she chirps and is met with stern eyes.

"No, I wish," Ziva grumbles and is pushed into the chair. Her arms are crossed stubbornly and Tony takes a picture.

"Oh well, all in good time. Half the waiting room is taken up; it appears you are late and nobody is really that happy anymore," she offers and wheels Ziva past the tired faces of their friends.

Tony stops to converse with Gibbs, who is wearing a permanent ditch into the linoleum.

"She having kids yet or should I get everyone's Christmas presents ready?" he asks gruffly and Tony chuckles.

"Christmas will definitely come last."

"Good," Gibbs grumbles. "I have rocking horses to paint."

"You guys doing anything productive or can I go visit Ziv? Abby says from her perch on one of the horrible plastic chairs.

"Sure Abs" Tony says and the trio trudge into Ziva's hospital room, coming face to face with an unimpressed Gemma.

"Ziva has been having contractions for twelve hours!" she cries and then turns to the expectant mother. "You are insane."

Tony winces and takes a step forward, hand raised guiltily. "We both dismissed them as Braxton Hicks…"

Gemma shrugs nonchalantly. "Most new parents do. You'll be more careful next time." She heads for the door. "I'll be back to check on you and introduce you to everyone else. "

Ziva stretches out, takes a sip of water and lets her head loll to one side. "Go home, get sleep, do something…" she murmurs. Gibbs kisses her forehead, sits in the recliner on the other side of the room, and grabs a paper.

Abby allows herself to climb in next to Ziva and the two are asleep before Tony has found a place to sit. He takes another picture, because he'll be damned if he doesn't ever get to share that cuteness, and finds a cot that he can lie on for a while.

He doesn't really expect to be lulled asleep by the sound of Ziva's snoring and Abby's sleep talking.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Twenty four hours and eleven cups of coffee later, Ziva's face flushes red and Gemma pulls back from checking her dilation.

"Finally, Mrs DiNozzo! It's only taken a day!"

Tony sits up from playing Tetris and grins. "Is it time?"

"Not yet Tony," Gemma says. "Her water just broke, but she's still only eight centimetres dilated."

Tony sighs and pulls a chair up next to Ziva's bed, taking her hand in his and running his thumb over it.

"Oh no," Gemma begins and places her hands on her hips. "Don't get all lovey-dovey now; I need to get Ziva cleaned up."

Ziva blushes again but Tony only smiles, takes his things, and heads out the door.

Abby greets him with a fresh coffee and a hug. "You look radiant," she says.

He shrugs and sips his coffee. "Ziva's water just broke."

"You don't seem so happy" Abby decides.

"Everything is happening so fast" Tony mumbles. "I don't know if I'm cut out to be a dad."

Gibbs appears out of nowhere, slaps his head, and gives him the stink eye. "No one's cut out to be a dad. You make it work because you love them. That's all that matters."

"Wow Boss" Tony says, and mainly his mouth is still hanging open because those type of things are found in Shakespearian plays, not coming out of Gibbs' mouth.

Gemma walks out, rings her hands and meets Tony's gaze. " I need to talk to you and Ziva."

His stomach flips as he follows her back to the edge of Ziva's bed.

"You both know the possibility of us having to arrange a caesarean. I just wanted to remind you of those odds. Right now, I think I should ring Carl from theatre and organise something for you. But, you have the final word, of course."

"No" Ziva says seriously. "I want a natural birth. Everything is fine."

"I'll give you another hour. After that we will start prepping you for surgery," Gemma tells them and passes Ziva's drink bottle to her as she groans. "Your contractions are going to be very close together now."

Gemma leaves and allows an exuberant Abby back in, who holds black roses in one hand and a knitted blanket in the other. "For you," she says and shoves the roses at Tony. "Go find a vase or something." She drapes the blanket over the bed railing and climbs in. "This is for later, in case you get cold."

Ziva grits her teeth against another contraction and thanks Abby when her breath returns. She runs her fingers over the blanket and is reminded of hot air and her mother, and little girls with bubbly eyes and azalea flowers and laughter.

Abby brushes her tears away. "That bad, huh?"

She's not really sure if Abby's talking about the pressure in her lower back or the ache in her heart, but she doesn't have a suitable answer for either.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tony sits, stands, and then peeks out of the door. He sees Gemma striding towards him and ducks back inside, taking his place by Ziva's side. Her hand slides into his automatically.

"Gemma's here now Zi, just wait a second."

Gemma wastes no time in prepping her team and arranging herself in a position Tony is glad he isn't currently seeing, and when she's ready she gives them a thumbs up.

"Next contraction you feel Ziva, I want you to push through your butt. Take a deep breath and hold it until I count to ten."

There's an awkward pause and then Tony feels something dig into his hand and it takes him five seconds (which he knows exactly because Gemma is already counting) before he realises that Ziva is straining in the bed.

Gemma is cheering enthusiastically. "Good job! More like that; you are going great!"

Tony's arm starts to tingle and he realises he can't exactly feel his hand anymore. He knows that Ziva has been growing her nails for the past however many weeks whilst on maternity leave, but he hadn't thought to consider just how long they had gotten in her spare time.

"Push, push, push" Gemma says, and Tony joins her mantra.

"You're doing great Zi, keep it up."

"Touch me again DiNozzo, and I will castrate you!"

Tony gulps and Gemma laughs, but cuts short and looks up with gleaming eyes. "I have a head! One more really big one, Ziva!"

And then, he is certain he had no hand.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

There had been several moments in his life when Tony had been unsuccessful in determining whether or not what he was seeing- or hearing, in this instance- was merely a dream or reality.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, there was this little scream, a tiny one that makes his heart freeze. He squeezes his eyes shut, opens them again, and there is this bundle of mess being held up for him to see.

"Congratulations! Beautiful girl," Gemma coos and then gives him a look. "Come cut the cord, _daddy_."

Tony unwraps his hand from Ziva's and takes only three steps until he is inches away from _his _baby girl. And she is crying and messy and perfect, he thinks as he snips the cord binding her to Ziva.

"Let me see!" Ziva exclaims and their baby is laid against her chest, and now both of his girls are crying.

Gemma takes their daughter and passes her off to be cleaned and bundled properly, and Tony follows with his camera. He cannot remember if he has ever been so amazed or so immediately in love with someone in his entire life.

It feels like the best drug.

"Ooh" Gemma calls back to him. "Our next darling is preparing to make an entrance!"

Tony hurries over to sit by Ziva's head, but now there is a new kind of tension in the air that makes his stomach turn.

"Ziva, you tell me the moment you get too tired," Gemma warns. Tony offers his other hand and notices that her grip is weaker. He meets her tired eyes and tries to smile reassuringly.

"Come on Zi," he whispers. "You're doing great, just a little longer to go."

"No, I don't feel well" she complains and drops her head onto the pillows.

"Ziva" Tony says sharply. "We have one beautiful girl, and you can't give up now, not this far through. You're my ninja; you are a strong, determined woman and that is why I-"

"Yes!" Gemma cries, and he sees Ziva let out a breath and collapse, the grip on his hand loosening. "Baby Girl Number Two, welcome to the world!"

Tony cuts the cord again, and finds himself tearing up at the sight of his two daughters lying beside each other. Ziva cranes her neck for a better look, worrying, and he turns to assure her that they are alright.

Somehow, Gemma scoops up their babies and he watches intently so he will know when it comes to be his turn, and they are handed to Ziva.

He takes a seat and leans in close to kiss her cheek and say hello to their beautiful miracles.

He supposes pregnancy has made him sappy.

Gemma walks over and grins at them, takes a picture and then settles to look at the new family. "Now, I know you guys have names, so do you wanna tell me so I can fill out their birth certificates? I've been waiting forever for this moment!"

Tony gives their names and makes sure the spelling is correct, and then Gemma gives them s few moments alone.

Ziva kisses each of their foreheads and he watches as their faces crumple slightly, chuckling as both open their eyes and stare at him, flexing their fingers.

Gently, he holds out his thumbs and finds himself letting out a deep breath as they clutch one each, still staring with wide blue eyes that he really hopes will match Ziva's one day.

"They're perfect" Ziva murmurs and runs her fingers lightly over the dark hair on the girl's heads. "Absolutely perfect."

Yes, maybe DiNozzo men don't cry, but there is always an exception to every rule and sometimes, you are wrong.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Its a little while later, after he's been kicked out whilst Ziva feeds their girls, that he remembers the group waiting for him to come out and say everything is okay.

When he leaves the hospital room and walks into the waiting room, he is bombarded with a hug that he feels he could collapse against.

"Are they okay? Abby whispers desperately, and she's already crying, which was too be expected, really.

"They're fine" he assures just as softly, and then pulls away and addresses everyone with a smile so huge it feels like his face is breaking apart at the seams. "Both are roughly seven pounds, and just perfect."

"Let me see!" Abby exclaims. "I wanna see Zi and I wanna know their names!"

Tony leads them all quite precariously down the hall and checks first to make sure that Ziva is decent, and then indicates for Abby to be quiet as they trudge through the door.

He picks up his eldest daughter and passes her to Gibbs' expectant arms, and manages to extract his second daughter from Ziva's arms before she is crushed by one of Abby's infamous hugs.

"Ooh Ziv, I'm so proud of you!" Abby tells her and then releases her and turns to Tony with glistening eyes. "Can I hold her?"

Tony, now being the expert (in his mind at least) at safely handing his daughters to others, passes his precious bundle over to Abby and instructs her to sit down, even though he does trust her.

Gibbs' face has gone soft as he gently bounces the sleepy infant in his arms, but it's neither him nor Abby that speaks first.

"What are their names, Tony?" Tim asks and peers down at the little girl Abby is holding.

"Well," Ziva starts and catches the look Tony shoots her way. "We have had them picked out for quite some time now..."

"We know," Abby chimes in. "We all tried to guess what they were."

"The one you are holding Gibbs, she was the first born, and therefore we named her Sophie Jennifer DiNozzo."

There is a moment of silence as they remember, collectively, the friendship they each had shared with the fiery red head. "You named her after your first undercover operation, didn't you?" Abby asks. "Sophie and Jean-Paul Ranier?"

Ziva laughs and nods, a content smile on her face. "We were reminded of it one night whilst we were looking through name books."

"Aw," Abby hums. "And what's Sophie's sister's name then, huh?"

"Paris Caitlin DiNozzo," Ziva murmurs softly. "And we would love for you and Tim to be their Godparents, Abby."

Abby bursts into tears and there are yes's being said and hugs being given and babies being passed around, and in this moment, right now, everything is right and balanced in _their_ world.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Sophie and Paris lie sound asleep, side by side in matching pink blankets with two adorable miniature bats tucked gently by their feet.

Ziva peels her eyes open and searches for her husband's presence on the couch or somewhere ridiculous, but rather finds him sitting on a chair near the window gazing at the sun.

She coughs slightly and he stands to crawl in beside her, being gentle because he knows that she is feeling sore and icky. "How are you?" he asks anyway.

"Good" she whispers back and leans against him. "I couldn't sleep properly."

"Hmm?" he wonders and she sighs heavily.

"I cannot believe that we have two beautiful, healthy daughters. I cannot believe they are not inside of me anymore. I miss that, already, and I wish I had of spent more time relishing in all of the small moments."

"But we do have two beautiful, healthy daughters. And now that they are born we have the opportunity to make billions of new memories, and we get to witness heaps of other moments that are just as important," Tony tells her, and kisses her head.

"I know," Ziva huffs. "And I am grateful I have this new life."

"So am I," Tony admits and then settles into the bed further. "You need to rest though, Zi. It's been a pretty exciting day and besides, Gemma says they'll probably wake you up."

"Tomorrow night" Ziva starts and then yawns. "You are going home to get a full night's sleep, and there will be no complaining like you did tonight."

"Yes sir," Tony says and she pinches his stomach. "I love you Zi."

"I love you too, all of you," she says groggily and it's not long before she succumbs to sleep again.

He doesn't let his heavy eyelids close until he checks one last time on his daughters, and then his dreams are filled with images of chasing away pubescent boys with a loaded shotgun.

Because he'll be damned if he lets_ anyone _hurt his girls. That's what a dad does, anyway.


End file.
